Club Obi Wan

I was away, but my Christie's arrived while I was away.

I did a quickie-bash as I opened the box, and was impressed with the soft, moldable felt... Yummy!

I have since spent a few more minutes with it. A reasonable tight front pinch, and I just let the top do whatever it wanted to do- the top is a bit of a wider dish than I'd like, but it is tall enough to wear properly without pushing the bash out (as I did on my other hat).

I will look into some pics tonight- maybe with my Todds shirt and Mk VII? I don't have a jacket at the moment...

The hat band is a bit weird... I may go with the Todds replacement ribon- there is an end they tack up at a weird angle, and the bow is really'square' looking. The color of the felt and the band are good in my opinion.

This is the '100% fur felt' version... Rabbit and street rat I presume...

I'm looking forward to seeing your pics of this. I ordered one last Wednesday, and had hoped it would have been here by now! Oh, I can't stand the suspense!

;0

Dave

J!M, I have a Todd's replacement ribbon you could have gratis. PM me if you're interested.

Randy

[quote="J!m"]The hat band is a bit weird... I may go with the Todds replacement ribon- there is an end they tack up at a weird angle, and the bow is really'square' looking. The color of the felt and the band are good in my opinion./quote]

I'm not sure, but I think you might be referring to the back part of the bow, where there are 2 bows and one is slightly higher than the other? That's called a double bow, and is a standard feature and perfectly normal on an Indy hat. The height of the bow in back varies with different makers.

If you get the Todd's ribbon and want to be as SA as possible, I think the height of the back bow on the Raiders hat is believed to be 1/16". My CS AB's bow is also that height. On the hats I used to get from Mr. Swales at HJ, it was higher.

Jack

Montana Hannah wrote:I'm looking forward to seeing your pics of this. I ordered one last Wednesday, and had hoped it would have been here by now! Oh, I can't stand the suspense!

I'm not exactly sure how long mine took to the US, but I ordered it on the 20th of August, and had it by the 29th in the US from England.

Maybe (hopefully not) they don't have your size? I just ordered on-line- smooth transaction by the way...

Oh, I wore it some more last night while watching LC and I am really liking the feel and the fit. The brim is a bit ornary, but it is coming around nicely I think....

DR Ulloa wrote:;0

Dave

I agree... I let my girlfriend borrow the 'toy' camera and my 'real' camera in in CT...

Sorry for the tease!

theinterchange wrote:J!M, I have a Todd's replacement ribbon you could have gratis. PM me if you're interested.

Randy

PM sent! Thanks brother!

eazybox wrote:I'm not sure, but I think you might be referring to the back part of the bow, where there are 2 bows and one is slightly higher than the other? That's called a double bow, and is a standard feature and perfectly normal on an Indy hat. The height of the bow in back varies with different makers.

No, actually there is a piece (the end) of the ribbon sticking up at a 45 degree angle behind the bow (which is square- the center of the bow is not pinched tight) and stitched to the hat body. UGLY!

eazybox wrote:If you get the Todd's ribbon and want to be as SA as possible, I think the height of the back bow on the Raiders hat is believed to be 1/16". My CS AB's bow is also that height. On the hats I used to get from Mr. Swales at HJ, it was higher.

I guess I will need some good ribbon photos then... I think the few stitches to hold it in place are not a problem, but I have no idea how to construct the bow itself...

J!m wrote:

Montana Hannah wrote:Maybe (hopefully not) they don't have your size?

That's a distinct possibility - my head measures 61 cm exactly, so I'm an extra large! And I'm only 5 foot 6! "Like an orange on a toothpick!"

This is a very tall crown hat... Have you tried one on to see how it will look?

I'm a toothpic (well not really) and this is a VERY tall hat on me (I'm 6'2")- it takes a bit of getting used to... BUT my old hat is too short in the crown, and my head pushes out the bash. Not acceptable!

So, to be perfect, I would need something in-between (looks wise) but the height of the Christie's is actually perfect for my head shape. I don't push the bash out. I guess I'll get used to it... The fur felt is SOOOOO nice!

And, I can now see why some peoply might think it's a 'cowboy' hat too. With such a tall crown, it does look a bit like the bull rider's hats you see on TV (although we know it's totally different, the ignorant do not).

Good luck!

Cheers!

J!m wrote:This is a very tall crown hat... Have you tried one on to see how it will look?

I haven't! I ordered online. I never gave a thought to how tall it would be in relation to the diameter! Ah well, no matter you live and learn. I'm sure I'll have fun with it anyway!

[quote="J!mNo, actually there is a piece (the end) of the ribbon sticking up at a 45 degree angle behind the bow quote]

That's exactly what I was trying to describe to you-- again, it's called a double bow. In the FAQ thread, I believe there is a section describing how to attach the ribbon. I hope this helps you.

Jack

Thanks- I'll check into that when the ribbon arrives...

I'll try to borrow a camera as well- to show the dreaded 'loose end'...

Can't wait to see it J!m.

Cheers!

Dan

I'm really going to make an effort tonight...

I feel NAKED without a camera at my disposal (well I have two film cameras at hand, but that is not much help for a few quick web shots).

Then we will all see what I look like with my Todd's shirt and Christie's hat...

OK, as asked, here's the worthless pics!

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd15 ... sties1.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd15 ... iesbow.jpg

The bow is horrible...

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd15 ... sliner.jpg

That is genuine sweat in that liner...

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd15 ... sright.jpg

No flash, under crappy light...

On my head- again, genuine sweat and genuine annoyance with piece of Buttercup camera I borrowed from work! (Note shirt is todd's for color comparison)

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd15 ... hy/me2.jpg

(Mod edit: Pics were big so they were turned into links.)

The bow...the tacking all the way around, really does stink. However, the "double bow" asthetic is very common ( Akubra Fed, AB, HJ, etc... this one is just shoddily attached ). BUUUUT...more importantly, is the whole apparatus worth a hundred bones and shipping in your opinion?
How do you plan on using it ( costuming and dress only, or will you succumb to the unholy desire to take it out to play ) ?

It IS very nice fur felt. Soft and 'floppy'; also easy to bash (that was my first attempt ever).

Also, rumor has it that the hat blank is the same one used by Herbert Johnson, among other reputable (and more expensive) hat makers.

The size, shape and color are all really great, not to once again mention the very nice felt, white satin liner (with plastic protection for the crown top) and honestly VChristie's is not a fly by night hatter either- theay have ben at it for a while.

So, in my opinion, it is worth the cost. I paid just over $100.00 for mine, slightly less than the Akruba would have been. Is the Akruba better? Maybe. Maybe not...

Bottom line is it is a nice hat, and I do wear it on occasion other than costuming. (not with shorts and a t-shirt!)

The real crime is buying a $400.00 hat and having it sit on a shelf! Wear the thing! If I ruin this, it is ~$100.00, not $400.00, which of course can cause some problems for those spending so much on a hat...

Nothing wrong with spending it if you can aford it, but I cannot, and I don't feel I will get enough wear to justify the added cost. Only you can make that decision in the end... If I wear it every day, that is 100% wear. If I wear it 1 out of four days (which seems reasonable) or more, at 1/4 the cost, I feel that is justifyable to myself...

And again, this is a NICE hat, it really is... Pictures cannot show the softness it has.

Hey it's pretty sweet for the price!
The pics look good - the camera worked just fine!

Great looking hat. Very attractive color. The bow doesn't look horrible to me, considering the price of the hat.

he double bow (where it kicks up at a slight angle in the back) is indeed a normal feature on an Indy hat and, for accuravy, you would not want to lose that feature if you replace the ribbon (the angle could be a little lower). If you just don't like it and don't care that much about accuracy, of course, it doesn't matter.

Jack

I don't like it, and it certainly seems to stick up WAY to high to me...

I have to research several screen shots of the hat bow before my new ribbon shows up...

Any screen captures anyone wants to post here would be appreciated!

The color of both the hat and the roibbon sem really good, if not perfect, to me. The hat is a nice deep brown, and the ribbon is almost black-brown- 'ebony' I'd almost call it... Too bad it loks so crappy to me... The stitches are many, and to large as well. I will try for single thread stitches, and make them as small as possible...

Overall, I'm quite pleased with the hat, and it came from England in less than a week I think. Not bad at all!

By the way, fit is perfect as well- I don't know if I mentioned that. I measured myself at 57, received a 57, and it fits perfectly!

I have a double bow on one of my hats that is much higher than yours, and the older Federations were very high as well.

There is a good view of the double bow in TOD when he enters the village with Willy and Short Round and the people start to cluster around them, and you get a nice closeup of the hat from behind. I think the fight with the German mechanic in Raiders also has some good glimpses.

Jack

Sounds good, Jack!

I guess I'll just HAVE to watch Raiders again now won't I?

J!m wrote:Sounds good, Jack!

I guess I'll just HAVE to watch Raiders again now won't I?

You've got to be fast on the trigger with the freeze frame to catch some of these.

I'm sure there are also good screen caps around and maybe someone will post a link for you. Good luck with the replacement ribbon, if you decide to go through with it

Jack

Oh, yeah.. The ribon HAS to be done.

I'm also hoping for good scren caps here, but I can go frame by frame on the DVD with no problems...

Thanks for the 'map' as to where to lok!

Hey eazybox, I agree with you that the "double bow" is something the Indy hat must have, but are the bows supposed to be so squarish? I always thought that they had to taper towards the "knot" of the bow but these almost look square.

Regards, Geert

gwyddion wrote:Hey eazybox, I agree with you that the "double bow" is something the Indy hat must have, but are the bows supposed to be so squarish? I always thought that they had to taper towards the "knot" of the bow but these almost look square.

Regards, Geert

I think here should be at least some taper, but for the price of the Christys, I'm OK with the lack of it. And one of my HJ's that was made by Swales has very little taper in the bow.

But everybody's different, and I can understand other people being concerned about it, though.

Jack